A duel of words took place today in the House of Commons between Colonel Josiah Wedgwood, non-Jewish member of the British Parliament, and Sir Phillip Cunliffe-Lister, the British Colonial Secretary, when the question of jailing illegal entrants into Palestine came up for discussion.
Colonel Wedgwood demanded to know why Jewish women in Bethlehem jail in Palestine declared a hunger strike. Sir Phillip replied that he had no information and promised to inquire of the Palestine government for details. Colonel Wedgwood thereupon suggested that the inquiry should also indicate that the continual imprisonment of innocent persons in Palestine is arousing considerable opposition in England.
“I have no reason to suppose that the Palestine courts are imprisoning innocent people,” the Colonial Minister stated.
“Is it a crime for people to go to Palestine?” Colonel Wedgwood asked sarcastically.
“It certainly is for persons who know quite well the immigration laws and are deliberately trying to enter Palestine by improper means,” the Colonial Secretary replied.
Answering another interpellation of Colonel Wedgwood with regard to the amendment proclaimed last week by the Palestine government for the status of foreigners in the country, Sir Phillip explained that under the new amendment a foreigner in Palestine means any person who is not a Palestine citizen.
“The new amendment has no affect whatsoever on the voting rights of any person in Palestine,” the Colonial Secretary added.
Tell our advertisers you “saw it in the Jewish Daily Bulletin.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
